How Can You Take Your Business To The Next Level?
Your company is similar to an airplane. You can develop a successful business if you understand how to put together the six components of your business.
The six essential parts of a business
A successful business’s factors are similar to an airplane’s components.
- Leadership: The Cockpit
- Products: The Wings
- Marketing: The Right Engine
- Sales: The Left Engine
- Overhead: The Body
- Cash Flow: The Fuel Tanks
Think of each part as a critical operating system.
If you ignore one of these six components, your company will miss revenue and growth possibilities. Worse yet, the plane may crash, killing everyone on board.
Healthy, sustainable growth and profitability are experienced by business leaders who understand and manage each component of their business to perform together correctly.
Let’s take a look at each component from above.
The Cockpit - Leadership:
The cockpit is your leadership team. Everything depends on leadership.
Leaders provide vision, create stability, and manage talent to ensure the business’s success. Employees can succeed at their tasks when they clearly understand where the company is going and their responsibilities.
A leadership system should include the following components:
- A clear Mission Statement
- A set of Guiding Principals
- A Communication Framework
- An Execution System
Learn how to lead your team confidently. Your team will acknowledge it.
The Wings - Products:
Wings are your products. You get more and more lift with each sale. To maintain a high and safe ‘cruising altitude,’ your products and services must be:
- Strong – they are profitable
- Light – they are in-demand
A business must have one or more products that solve a customer’s problem and generate a sizeable profit for a company to survive.
Learn which products to create and which to close down.
The Right Engine - Marketing:
Your marketing is the right engine. Every business requires an organized marketing engine to provide thrust to the wings (your products) and create lift.
Customers will not buy if they do not understand what you do, so clarity is fuel efficiency in your marketing message.
Your message must speak directly to your customer to be compelling. Customers are only interested in your product if they believe you can help them solve their problems.
Companies that clarify their message gain customers and succeed in the marketplace.
Learn how to clarify your message and create a sales funnel that generates revenue.
The Left Engine - Sales:
The left engine is your sales team and provides push to the plane.
Marketing provides good cover for your sales team, so most businesses begin with marketing. Your sales team should collaborate closely with your marketing team to ensure a consistent message.A sales team’s role is to convert marketing leads into customers through a defined sales process. As your company grows, you may consider investing in an administrative structure to improve efficiency and keep your sales reps focused on making calls and meeting with customers.
Stop selling and start telling your story instead. Learn how to streamline your sales process as well.
The Body - Overhead:
The fuselage, a fancy word for an aircraft body, is your overhead.
Aeroplanes are built to carry as little extra weight as possible. There’s a reason you keep hitting your head against the overhead compartment! In business, you must also be frugal.
If the aeroplane body is too large, it will not take off. One of the tools a business owner can use to maintain profitability is to reduce overhead. It is not the only tool available; however, the problem may be found elsewhere. Before flying overhead, conduct a thorough inspection of your aircraft.
Excess weight could be caused by:
Unused, recurring, or lapsing subscriptions, excessive rent, office space, and underperforming employees (no return on investment)
Learn how to maintain a solid and lean overhead stance. You’re most likely squandering your money in the wrong places.
The Fuel Tanks - Cash Flow:
The fuel is the cash. If you run out of money, the plane will crash.
Cash flow is the most critical factor to monitor in a business because it cannot function without it. It doesn’t matter how good your plane is; it will crash if you run out of fuel.
It’s interesting to hear a CEO criticized for “only caring about money”… This is similar to a pilot being charged for “only caring about fuel.” Pilots have died due to fuel.
Discover a simple framework that ensures you never run out of cash.
